The Tortoise
and the Hare
An African Folktale
Children whose parents read to
them have heard 30 million
more words before they start
school. Help your children
prepare for school.
Million word gap project
www.hope-hear.org
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The Hope-Hear Million word gap project by
Hope-Hear NPC, 2024 / 064699 / 08
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution -
Non-Commercial 3.0 Unported License
Illustrated by
Robyn van ZijlRobyn van Zijl
Once upon a time, in a bright, sunny African
grassland, there lived a hare named Kazi.
Kazi was as quick as lightning and loved to
race! He was always hopping around,
showing off his speed.
One day, while Kazi was racing through the
tall grass, he came across Thomas, a slow-
moving tortoise who was quietly munching
on some leaves.
“Hello, Thomas!” Kazi said with a big grin.
“I’m the fastest animal in the grassland! I
can race all day and never lose. Do you
think you can keep up with me?”
Thomas looked up slowly and smiled. “I may
not be fast, Kazi, but I’m steady and
determined. Let’s have a race to see who
reaches the big baobab tree first!”
Kazi laughed loudly. “You? A tortoise? I’ll
reach the baobab tree long before you even
start moving!”
The other animals in the grassland gathered
to watch. They all knew how fast Kazi was,
and they thought Thomas was being very
brave to challenge him.
The race began with a loud "On your marks,
get set, go!"
Kazi dashed off like the wind, his feet barely
touching the ground. He was so fast that in
just a few minutes, he was far ahead of
Thomas, who was slowly making his way
across the grass, step by step.
Kazi looked back and saw Thomas far, far
behind. “I’ve got plenty of time!” he
thought. “I’ll just take a little nap under that
tree and rest.”
So, Kazi lay down in the shade of a tall
acacia tree, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Thomas kept moving at his
own slow and steady pace. He didn’t
rush or stop. Step by step, he kept
moving forward toward the baobab
tree, never looking back.
Hours passed, and Kazi continued to
sleep soundly, unaware that Thomas
was getting closer and closer to the
finish line.
Finally, Thomas reached the baobab
tree and crossed the finish line, just as
Kazi was waking up from his nap.
Kazi jumped up and looked around. “Oh
no! Thomas is already there!” he said,
and he raced as fast as he could, but it
was too late.
Thomas smiled and said, “You see, Kazi,
it’s not always about being the fastest.
Sometimes, slow and steady wins the
race.”
All the animals cheered for Thomas,
and Kazi realized that rushing and
resting too much wasn’t the best way to
win.
From that day on, Kazi learned that
patience and determination were the
true keys to success, and that
sometimes, it’s better to go slow and
steady.
